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Drivers of various automotive brands have reputations. Some of these reputations may be earned, others may be unfair. But a recent quantitative study found that BMW drivers are leading the country in DUIs. Last year, they got almost twice as many as the runner up: Ram drivers. Despite all this driving under the influence, BMW drivers are far from the most accident prone.

Lending Tree is a marketplace that offers multiple loan options to car buyers. It completes a yearly study analyzing the number of incidents per drivers of each car brand. Between November 2022 and November 2023, police issued 3.13 DUIs for every 1,000 BMW drivers.

It’s tough to communicate how high that number is. An average group of THREE drivers who own a Hyundai, Tesla, Infiniti, Buick, Saturn, Lincoln, Nissan, Cadillac, Kia, Mercury, Volvo, or Mitsubishi is less likely to get one DUI than a just ONE BMW driver. Ram truck drivers got 1.72 DUIS for every 1,000 drivers. So BMW drivers almost got twice as many DUIs as the runner up.

White can of "Pub Beer" lager set on the bumper of a Toyota SUV for a photo shoot.
Beer can on bumper | Jay-Miller via Unsplash

So which group of drivers got the fewest DUIs? Mitsubishi takes the prize. Mitsubishi drivers got 0.89 DUIs/1,000 drivers last year. Next is Volvo which came in at 0.92. Then Kia and Mercury tied with a respectable 0.93.

Alright, so how often are BMW drivers getting in accidents? Not too often. They suffered 18.17 reported accidents for every 1,000 drivers. And before you make any judgments, know that Lexus, Mazda, Subaru, Ram, and Tesla owners all got in more accidents last year. Tesla drivers reported getting in 23.54 accidents for every 1,000 drivers. Which drivers are the safest? Pontiac drivers only got in 8.41 accidents/1,000 drivers.

Whether or not you crash, driving drunk is stupid. Don’t do it. If you drive a BMW, don’t be a statistic. If you drive something else, don’t be a statistic. Just don’t do it.

Next, find out the surprising number of states that let your passenger drink while you drive or learn more facts about who drives under the influence most often in the video below:

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari joined MotorBiscuit in 2021 and brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. Henry is also an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont. He has since incorporated his love of the written word with his admiration of classic cars. While Henry is interested in vintage cars, he believes the golden age of cars is yet to come. He is confident journalists will play an important role in this revolution by exposing the industry as it is now and envisioning its possible future.